Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-08-31
A SURGEONS LIFE.

A Page From the Experience of a Famo us
Physician and Surgeon.
From the Autobiography of the late DR.. Gross
have always maintained that 1t Is
impossible for any man to be g. great
surgeon if he is destitute, even IN q
considerable degree, Of the finer feel
ings of nature. I have often lain
awake for hours the night before an
important operation, and suffered
great menGal distress for days alter 1t
was over, until was certain that my
patient was out of danger. do not
think that it is possible for q crlml-
nal to feel much worse the night be.
fore his execution than q surgeon
when he knows that upon his skill and
attention must depend the fate OF g.
valuable citizen, husband, father,
mother or child. Surgery under such
circumstances is g. terrible taskmaker,
feeding like vulture upon g. mans
vitals. It is surprising that any sur
geon in large practice should ever at-
tain to respectable old age, so great
are the wear and tear of mind and
body. The world has seen many asad
picture. [ will draw one of the sur
geon.
It is midday; the sun IS bright and
beautiful; all nature is redolent OF joy;
men and women crowd the streets, ar
rayed in their best, and all, apparent
ly, is peace and happiness within and
without. In large house, almost
overhanging this street SO full OF life
and gayety, lies upon q couch an
emaciated figure. once one Of the sweet
est and loveliest Of her sex, confid-
ing and affectionate wife, and the
adored mother of numerous children,
the subject of q frightful disease of one
of her limbs, or, it may be, OF her jaw,
if not of still more important part
of her body. In an adjoining room is
the surgeon, with his assistants,
spreading out his instruments and
getting things in readiness for the i'm
pending operation. He assigns to each
his appropriate place. One admins
tiers chlOroform; another takes charge
OF the limb; one screws down the
tourniouet upon the principal artery,
and another holds himselfin readiness
to follow the knife with his sponge.
The flaps are soon formed, the bone
severed, the vessels tied and the huge
wound approximated. The woman is
pale and CHASTITY, the pulse hardly
perceptible, the skin wet with clammy
perspiration, the voice husky, the
sight indistinct.
Some one whispers into the ear of
the busy surgeon, s'The patient, Ifear,
is dying" Restoratives are admins
tered, the pulse gradually rises, and
after g. few hours OF hard work and
terrible anxiety reaction occurs. The
poor woman was only faint from the
Joint influence of the an8sthetic,
shock and loss of blood. An assist
ant, g. kind of sentinel, is placed as
guard over her, with instructions to
watch her with the closest care, and
to send word the moment the slight
est change for the worse is perceived.
The surgeon goes about his business,
visits other patients on the way, and
at length, long after the usual hour,
he sits down, worried and exhausted,
to his cold and comfortless meal, with
mouth almost as dry and voice as
husky as his patients. He eats me.
chemically, exchanges hardly q word
with any member Of his family, and
ullenly retires to his study, to pre-
scribe for his patients-never, during
all this time, forgetting the poor mu-
tilated object he left few hours ago.
He is about to lie down to get a mo-
ment's repose after the severe toll of
the day, when suddenly he hears
loud ring at the bell, and q servant,
breathless with excitement, begs his
immediate presence at the sick cham
Der with the exclamation, "They
think Mrs. - Is dying" He hurries
to the scene with a. rapid pace and
anxious feeling. The stump is of g.
crimson color, and the patient lies in
profound sWoon. An artery has
suddenly given way; the exhaustion
is extreme; cordials and stimuIants
are at once brought into requisition,
the dressings are removed, and the
recusant vessel is promptly secured.
The vital current Gibbs and flows, re-
action is still more tardy than before,
and it is not until a late hour of the
night that the surgeon, literally worn
out in mind and body, retires to his
home in search of repose. Does he
sleep? He tries, but he cannot close
his eyes. His mind is with his pa
tient; he bears every footstep upon the
pavement under his window, and is in
momentary expectation of the ringing
of the night bell. He is disturbed by
the widest fancies, he sees the most
terrific objects, and as he rises early in
the morning to hasten to his patients
chamber, he feels that he has been
cheated of the rest OF which he stood
so much in need. Is this picture over
drawn? [ have sat for it thousand
times, and there is not an educated,
conscientious surgeon that will not
certify to it's accuracy.